Congressman Doyle Fights to Protect Consumers and Local Governments

Washington, DC – U.S. Representative Mike Doyle (PA-14) today voted against a major telecommunications reform bill after the House failed to adopt an amendment that would have kept control over telecom franchises at the local level.

“The United States has lost its lead in broadband access, and that is hurting our economy’s international competitiveness,” Congressman Doyle said.  “Consumers and businesses would benefit significantly from increased access to inexpensive broadband connections, but as Congress acts to increase broadband Internet access, it needs to preserve local governments’ ability to protect their constituents.”

H.R. 5252, the Communications Opportunity, Promotion, and Enhancement (COPE) Act, was approved by the full House late in the evening of June 8.  This legislation, if enacted into law, would streamline the cable franchising process in order to make it easier for phone companies and other providers of video, voice, and data services to compete with local cable monopolies in offering broadband Internet services.  The bill’s authors argue that this change will increase competition between broadband providers in many parts of the country – and that the resulting competition will improve access to broadband service and lower the price.

Broadband Internet service provides much faster data transfer than the dial-up modems that many consumers and small businesses use today.  This greater speed or bandwidth makes it possible to quickly download massive files like music and video files.  Industry experts believe, for example, that as greater bandwidth becomes widely available, “video on demand” services will grow dramatically.

“I believe that Congress needs to adopt policies to promote expanded, affordable broadband access,” Congressman Doyle added.  “But the COPE Act in its current form has a very big flaw that must be fixed before it’s signed into law.”

H.R. 5252, as currently drafted, would allow local municipal governments to negotiate local franchises – but it would establish an alternative national franchise system that would destroy much of the local governments’ bargaining power.  Moreover, while this bill would continue to allow local governments to regulate local broadband providers, it would strip local governments of their power to resolve disputes over that regulation and invest that authority in the Federal Communications Commission (FCC).

 “The FCC does some things well,” Congressman Doyle observed.  “But if there’s a problem, since when does the FCC care about Pittsburgh Community Television -- 21?  How fast will it react and respond if any of the 3 institutional networks that serve Pittsburgh’s police, schools and libraries go down?  Why should the FCC become the final arbiter over America’s streets?  Why is Congress telling America’s local governments that they’ve got to hire a Washington attorney to defend their roads?”

Congressman Doyle and Congressman John Dingell drafted an amendment that would have allowed local governments to handle these local problems first.  It tapped into the infrastructure local governments already have in place to handle cable complaints and disputes.  Only in certain cases would the FCC get involved.  This amendment would have saved taxpayers a great deal of money as well as keeping the primary control over these issues local.

The Doyle-Dingell amendment was supported by the National League of Cities, the U.S. Conference of Mayors, the National Association of Counties, AARP, the Consumers Union, and the National Organization of Telecommunications Officers and Advisors. 

Unfortunately, the House Republican Leadership refused to allow the consideration of the Doyle-Dingell amendment, along with a number of other legitimate amendments. 

“The COPE Act rips any dispute about those rights of way out of the hands of locals and detours them hundreds or thousands of miles away to the bureaucrats in Washington at the FCC,” Congressman Doyle observed on the House Floor during consideration of the unamended COPE Act.  “That is a massive change that has profound implications for America’s cities and towns.  It’s bad policy to make the Federal Communications Commission the final arbiter of how your hometown protects the road you live on.”

“There were several other reasons I opposed the bill as well,” Congressman Doyle added.  “I strongly support an open Internet that promotes democratic discussion, improved education and a growing economy.  The Internet exploded in growth because Internet Service Providers were required to treat content and media over the Internet in a non-discriminatory manner.  Such ‘net neutrality’ – the principle that all users can access the content or run the applications and devices of their choice over the Internet – is critical to the future growth of the Internet.  Unfortunately, the House voted down an amendment to ensure that network neutrality was protected in law during consideration of the COPE Act.  I voted for that amendment, also known as the Markey Amendment, because the Internet is too critical to our nation's political debate, educational system, and our economy not to keep net neutrality principles enforced in law.   Without that amendment, the COPE Act lacks adequate protections for net neutrality.”

“Finally, I opposed the COPE Act because it would give new providers special permission to compete only in the neighborhoods the Internet Service Provider chooses,” Congressman Doyle said.  “While the bill contains ‘anti-discrimination’ provisions, the bill still explicitly allows Internet providers to discriminate by block, neighborhood, or town and never offer service to some residents.  Without ensuring that Internet providers provide service across the community, I fear that competition will only exist in wealthier neighborhoods, leading to a larger digital divide than ever before.” 

“As a member of the Energy and Commerce Committee's Subcommittee on Telecommunications and the Internet, I have been engaged in these issues for some time and have worked extensively with my colleagues to ensure the Internet remains as free and open as it is today.  During Committee consideration of this bill, I consistently supported amendments that would have defended network neutrality and ensured that everyone in a community would have access to competition.” 

This legislation must now be considered by the Senate.

“I will continue to work to protect America’s consumers as Congressional consideration of this flawed legislation proceeds,” Congressman Doyle promised after the House passed H.R. 5252. 

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